Big 12 foes Kansas and No. 22 Texas will not play on Saturday, bringing to 14 the number of games postponed or canceled on the week as COVID-19 surges across the country.
Last week, 15 games were called off.
The Texas-Kansas game was moved to Dec. 12 in Lawrence, Kan., after the Jayhawks said they didn’t have enough players at one position because of COVID-19 contact tracing and injuries.
Kansas (0-7, 0-6 Big 12) is next scheduled to host TCU on Nov. 28, with Texas (5-2, 4-2) facing Iowa State at home on Nov. 27.
No. 24 Louisiana, with 33 student-athletes currently in the COVID-19 protocol, was forced to cancel its final home game against Central Arkansas. The players for the Ragin’ Cajuns (7-1) are sidelined because of either positive tests or contact tracing.
“We are disappointed we will be unable to play Central Arkansas on Saturday,” Louisiana athletic director Bryan Maggard said. “We knew this season was going to require a lot of patience and flexibility and disruptions were likely to occur. The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff is always the primary focus.”
The Ragin’ Cajuns next scheduled game is Nov. 28 at Sun Belt Conference opponent Louisiana-Monroe.
In the Mountain West, an upward trend of COVID-19 cases within the Utah State program forced the Aggies to cancel Thursday night’s game at Wyoming. The league declared the game a no contest.
The next game on the schedule for Utah State (0-4) is Nov. 26 against New Mexico. It is the second consecutive cancellation for Wyoming (1-2), which has its Nov. 14 game against Air Force canceled over COVID-19 concerns with the Falcons. The Cowboys are slated to play at UNLV on Nov. 27.
Also in the Mountain West, multiple outlets reported that UNLV’s game Saturday at Colorado State was canceled. The Rebels (0-4) are scheduled to host Wyoming on Nov. 27, while the Rams (1-2) are slated to play at Air Force on Nov. 26.
Meanwhile in the American Athletic Conference, Houston’s game at SMU and Navy’s contest at South Florida this weekend were postponed due to positive COVID-19 cases in the Cougars’ and Bulls’ programs.
The postponement of Saturday’s tilt marks the fifth time that Houston (3-3) has had a game canceled or moved due to COVID-19 issues. The previous four occasions dealt with concerns involving the Cougars’ opponents.
“The health and well-being of our student-athletes and staff remains our top priority,” Houston vice president for athletics Chris Pezman said. “Postponing a game is not an easy decision to make, but we appreciate the collaborative approach from SMU and the American Athletic Conference as we worked through this decision. We are also very appreciative of the continued care of our medical staff and athletic trainers, who have worked tirelessly throughout this season.”
As for SMU (7-2), its game against TCU on Sept. 11 was canceled because of coronavirus issues.
Navy’s games against Tulsa on Nov. 7 and Memphis on Nov. 14 were also postponed. No makeup dates for either game has been announced.
Navy (3-4) had its scheduled game against Temple on Sept. 26 altered due to COVID-19 issues. That game was played on Oct. 10, with the Midshipmen posting a 31-29 victory.
USF (1-7) had its Sept. 26 game against Florida Atlantic postponed due to the virus. A makeup date has yet to be announced.
In the Atlantic Coast Conference, Wake Forest (4-3) and Duke (2-6) won’t play Saturday because of COVID-19 issues with the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest said it would work with Duke and the conference to try to reschedule the game.
In the Big Ten, Maryland (2-1) will decide Thursday whether it will host Michigan State (1-3) on Saturday. The Terrapins canceled practice Wednesday for the third straight day and haven’t participated in football activities since Nov. 11 when the school announced eight players had tested positive for COVID-19. Last Saturday’s game against Ohio State was canceled because of the outbreak.
Games previously postponed or canceled for the week were Ohio at Miami (Ohio); UAB vs. UTEP; Ole Miss at No. 5 Texas A&M; Georgia Tech at No. 12 Miami (Fla.); Charlotte at No. 15 Marshall; Louisiana-Monroe vs. Louisiana Tech; and Arizona at Colorado.
